Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of The House of Caesar

by Tom Holland

A review by Ian James Grant

The works of Tom Holland came to my attention when I read his best-selling Rubicon, an epic account of the founding of Rome and its conception as a Republic. Holland’s genius as a writer shone throughout the pages; I can hardly recall a more brilliant example of narrative history. Recently, I also read Dynasty (also a best-seller). This further account of Ancient Rome, of how it went from a Republic to what was, in effect, an autocracy, is conveyed with similar flare and panache.

Holland’s ability to pull the reader’s attention so easily into this fantastic story is a hallmark of a master writer. Incredible to behold its scholarly breadth and, at times, its breakneck pace, rather than an ordinary historical novel Dynasty reads more like mythology or a dark fantasy. It’s as if a spell is cast upon the reader, not to induce sleep so much as a waking dream, filled with nightmare and fascination. We all have heard the cliché that truth is often more remarkably stranger than fiction. However, whether it be the numerous executions of statesmen and senators, the unimaginable indictments of family members, the sexual perversions of emperors like Tiberius, or the matricide committed by Nero, all are brought to life in vivid, gory detail.

The only snag in my enjoyment of the book was the occasional, overblown, and over-eloquent sentence. However, many a writer has displayed the tendency to be carried away with their own explanatory zeal. As the Latin phrase states: Verba volant, scripta manent. “Words fly away, writings remain.”

Tom Holland is to be counted among the greatest historians of both the past and the present age. And for anyone who wishes to understand and emotionally engage in this unique episode in Rome’s drama, this X-rated, read-at-your-own-risk novel, comes highly recommended.